An important feature of many gaming terminals is the paytable which defines the prizes to be awarded for various game outcomes, often as a function of the size of the wager (such as the number of coins wagered). The nature of paytables, and the opportunities for the paytable modifications, are influenced, at least in part, by the nature of the game. For example, for many card games, such as typical five card draw poker, it is impossible or infeasible to change the nature or relative frequency of possible card hands or outcomes. In particular, either because of regulations or because of player or user expectations, card electronic card game machines typically cannot provide a hand which departs from hands that could be achieved in a physical card game and/or which appear with a frequency different from the frequency with which they appear in a physical card game. In contrast, games such as an electronic slot machine game can often be configured or modified to provide frequencies for outcomes that might differ from frequencies that could be achieved using a physical-reel slot machine (e.g., using so-called virtual reel approaches). Accordingly, whereas in an electronic slot machine the overall payback percent for a given paytable can be modified by, e.g., modifying the frequency for one or more winning combinations, as well as by multiplying payout amounts, a typical electronic draw poker machine cannot be modified to change the frequency of which particular winning hands occur and thus overall payback percentages can typically be modified only by modifying in the paytable the values of the prizes associated with winning hands.
Gaming operations and facilities are typically strictly regulated and such regulation typically includes requirements that paytables for gaming terminals must comply with standards for regulatory approval. Different jurisdictions have different requirements for what information must be supplied about a paytable to seek approval. In many situations, it must be shown that the overall payout percentage (i.e., the percentage, averaged over a long period of time, of the amount of wagers which are returned to players in the form of prizes) has been accurately determined. Accurate knowledge about the overall payout percentage (and/or the hold, which is 100% minus the payout percentage and typically represents revenues retained by the casino or other gaming operator) is also of interest to the gaming operator and, potentially, of interest to players or users of the gaming terminals.
In typical systems, paytables are embodied as information stored electronically in gaming terminals (or other electronic devices coupled to gaming terminals), often as part of the stored programming and data for which regulatory approval is required. In general, it has been typical for the manufacturers of the gaming terminals (and/or the electronics or software used in gaming terminals), as opposed to casino personnel or other gaming operators, to obtain approval of paytables for gaming terminals or systems. It is believed this is at least partially due to the relatively computationally-intensive nature of the process of determining overall payback for a given paytable, in a manner acceptable to regulatory bodies and/or with a high degree of accuracy, especially considering the very large number of possible outcomes for most games.
This situation, however, has sometimes been at odds with a desire of casinos or other game operators to have greater flexibility and shorter turn-around time for implementing games with different paytables. Thus, the typical scenario, in the past, has been for a game operator to consult with gaming terminal manufacturers, expressing a desire for a new or modified paytable for a game, for the terminal manufacturer or fabricator to perform the extensive calculation needed to determine items such as overall payback percentage and the like, for the gaming terminal fabricator to work with one or more different regulatory authorities to obtain approval, based on, at least in part, on such calculations (and sometimes involving further modifications of the paytable, with consultations with the originally-requesting gaming operators and regulatory authorities in order to achieve the desired approval) fabrication of the gaming terminal having the requested modified paytable and, finally, distribution to gaming operators. Such a process has typically been relatively difficult, expensive and time consumptive with a relatively large portion of the cost and effort being undertaken by the fabricator. The difficulty and delay involved in such a process has made it infeasible to provide the type of flexibility desired by operators who may wish to provide new or modified paytables in relatively short time frames, e.g., in response to rapidly changing market conditions, player tastes or preferences and the like. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a gaming apparatus, system and method in which operators can directly, and preferably relatively rapidly, create and/or obtain regulatory approval for new or modified paytables, preferably with little, if any, need made for involvement by the gaming terminal manufacturer or fabricator.
One approach is to provide a gaming terminal which has two or more paytables for a given game, preferably previously approved by one or more gaming jurisdictions, which the gaming operator can select among, substantially without the need to involve, the gaming operator and with substantially little, if any, need for additional regulatory approval (in some cases, requiring only notification, to a regulatory authority, of which paytable has been selected). Although this approach can assist in reducing the time and/or cost for changing paytables for a given game, flexibility is limited since there are only a finite, and relatively small, number of paytables from which the operator may select. Typically there is no facility in such systems to allow modification or changes to the predefined (and, typically, preapproved) paytables. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a system in which operators, preferably without the need to substantially involve gaming terminal manufacturers, can define new or modified paytables, without being restricted to selection among a plurality of predefined paytables, such as having the facility to change or modify prize amounts, or other values in a paytable, preferably providing substantially all information needed to apply for a regulatory approval of the new or modified paytable.
According to one aspect, the present invention permits and/or facilitates gaming operators modifying or defining a paytable for one or more gaming terminals. Preferably, this is implemented by providing software, preferably in one or more gaming terminals, which not only allows the definition or modification of paytables, but also arranges for carrying-out the above-described computationally-intensive process of calculating information needed to apply for regulatory approval such as calculating overall payout and/or hold percentages for the new or modified pay out paytable. Preferably the definition or modification of the paytable and the calculation of the overall payout percentage or other regulatory information is performed substantially entirely in the gaming terminal, i.e., and same device which is used by players for playing the game. Those of skill in the art will understand how to program and/or use computers or microprocessors to implement processes described herein including calculating various values, storing values, tables, arrays and the like, after understanding the present disclosure.
In order to implement the invention such that paytable modifications can be made at the gaming terminal, the system is preferably configured such that authentication is required (such as inserting a key, token, password or code) in order to define or modify a paytable.
Preferably, the system is configured to output, in printed form,or in electronic form, information designed to facilitate the application, to a regulatory authority, for approval of a new or modified paytable.
In one aspect, a gaming terminal and method are provided with which allow casino managers or other game operators to customize paytables, including poker paytables. Preferably, the system can verify or assist in verifying that the paytables comply with one or more various standards such as regulatory standards, e.g., such that the paytables are legal. In one aspect, paytable verification calculations, such as calculations of overall payback or hold percentages, preferably in the manner acceptable to regulatory authorities, are performed in the electronic gaming terminal, e.g., using the gaming terminal microprocessor.